


Manager Princess [Fem!Reader x Various Seijoh Members]

by KrysImeteriHikari



Series: Haikyuu! Manager-Chan Series [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-12 19:35:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7119604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysImeteriHikari/pseuds/KrysImeteriHikari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one had ever said it was going to be easy being Seijoh's manager.</p>
<p>A collection of one-shots all dealing with the various adventures of the reader playing as manager of the Aoba Jousai Volleyball Club. </p>
<p>Ratings vary with each chapter. Some chapters will contain NSFW materials and will be labeled as such in chapter titles and in the author notes.</p>
<p>Pairings and Character focuses will be featured in each chapter title as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Kind Oikawa-san's Fangirls [Makki/Matsun x Reader]

There are some days you wonder why certain things happen to you. Was it karma? Pure dumb luck? Destiny?

No, most definitely not.

So, why was it that your back was against the shoe lockers this early morning, three girls surrounding you in a tight formation, all eying you with a fierce look?

They were all younger than you, you could tell by the special markings on their uniforms, similar to your own. First years, from what you could tell. You yourself had worn a similar uniform just two years prior. It would have felt nostalgic, had you not been surrounded by it threateningly.

"[Last name]-senpai!" all three chorused, startling you. You had barely managed to stutter out a response.

"Y-yes? Is there... something I can help you with?" Why were these first years scaring you, a third year, so badly? Shouldn't they be the ones afraid of you?

Once the words were out of your mouth, their intensity grew, the fire in their eyes greater than before. You could feel heart about ready to give out from fright when all three bowed simultaneously, each eagerly holding out a single sheet of paper.

"Please consider me when choosing a new manager for the volleyball team, [Last Name]-senpai!"

Wait, manager-? Oh yes, that's right.

You managed the volleyball team. Had for the last three years now. It was that time of year again, wasn't it? The same thing had happened in your second year too, when you had managed the team on your own when your senpai had resigned and graduated.

Suddenly, this entire situation made so much more sense and a small wave of relief washed over you.

Your senpai was lucky to have never dealt with this, and your future kouhai will likely won't have this problem in the future.

Again, you wonder if karma had it out for you. What did you even *do* in your past life to deserve this?

"U-umm," you began, "I'm very grateful for your enthusiasm and thank you for wanting to be a part of the Volleyball Club, but it's not me you should be submitting your applications to. They go to the Club Activities Director, actually."

It was a small lie, a practiced one. You could, technically speaking, accept club application forms, as it was going to be your successor you're looking into. But, as grateful as you were for their enthusiasm, there were just too many applications for you and the coach to go through alone. It was starting to interfere with your own club activities. Looking for a successor was important, of course, but so were your duties as current manager. There was only so much you could do on top of manager duties, school, and various other things. 

So, in lieu of flat out refusing some applications (as you've had to do on more than your willing to admit. Really, applying for a club where you don't even go to the school is an instant rejection), you just redirect them towards the correct place, the place that had much better filtering capabilities than you do, and the time to actually look through them to see if they are serious about applying.

The director also knows to look for any mention of 'Oikawa Tooru' or any variations of his name and have it as an instant red flag, at your request. As much as you hate to admit it, it worked as the best filter, and eased a lot of your headaches.

Finally, the girls backed off, their eyes betraying their embarrassment. You gave them a warm smile, telling them that it was an easy mistake to make, and no harm done and whatnot, another practiced response. Too practiced it felt sometimes.

And, like you were really going to reveal you had the daylights scared out of you by three girls two years younger than you. 

Nonetheless, you were genial with them, wishing them luck on their applications, and the obligatory 'Thanks for the Support' and 'Hope to see you at our next match!'

Once they were finally gone, you could feel your feet giving out from under you. You could swear all this stress was taking years off your life with every girl that approaches you with an application. Was it possible to faint from near-death experiences?

Before you could completely fall, however, two pairs of strong arms caught you and steadied you.

"Easy there, princess," a familiar voice said from your front, your nose pressed into a broad chest. "Don't go fainting on us first thing in the morning."

Ah yes, Hanamaki. You should have known. So, if it was Hanamaki in front of you, that must mean the pair of arms behind you is-

"Fangirls again?" The voice echoed behind you, being as steady as he could be until he was sure you were okay. 

Matsukawa, yep, that was definitely his voice behind you, you were sure of it. One was rarely seen without the other somewhere close by. It had been that way since you've known them.

You could barely keep yourself from groaning. Why did it have to be these two this early?

"Really now," Hanamaki continued, clicking his tongue, "First Years these days... they should really learn to respect their senpais, y'know. I'm half tempted to tell Oikawa-san how the first years are treating our dear manager. Such disrespect."

You knew he wouldn't do it, as Matsukawa wouldn't either. As much as they loved teasing Oikawa, they had to admit he brought a lot of publicity to the Volleyball Club. Not to mention it would hurt his feelings or something like that, according to them.

It's not as though you were much better in not telling him about your troubles with his fans. You knew how much he thrived on that attention, and felt bad if you ever did have to tell him. For now, your only relief from the matter was Iwaizumi and his... handling of Oikawa and his fangirls. Come to think of it, you hadn't really told Iwaizumi either, about your troubles with Oikawa's fangirls. You just had a bad feeling something worse would happen if Iwaizami knew, being the closest to Oikawa.

It was probably safest that only Hanamaki and Matsukawa knew. It wasn't a solution to the problem, but there really wasn't an easy solution to the problem, either way.

You were also getting kind of uncomfortable with how close the two of them were still, having not moved since they had saved you from falling. 

"Feeling stable enough, Princess?" Matsukawa said this time, his grip still steady and tight as when he had first grabbed you.

"Can you both stop calling me that?" you said, a pout forming on your lips.

"But you are," he continued, his chin coming down to rest on your shoulder, "A lady amongst us savages of the Volleyball team."

"Ah," Hanamaki agreed, his face coming incredibly close, resting his forehead on yours, looking you in the eye. "The diamond in the rough."

Matsukawa's nose came against your cheek, brushing it while he breathed against you. Your face was turning completely red, you could feel it. 

"G-guys..." You said, your heart starting race.

"Yes, Princess?" they responded cooly, both sharing the same cheshire grin.

You swallowed uncomfortably, something both undoubtedly heard because of how close they were. You took a quick, short breath, raising your hands to place one on each boy. There was a momentary pause and then-

The shrill shriek of the morning warning bell stopped all of you in your tracks. Taking advantage of the situation, you pushed both away with a shove and stepped out from between them, panting softly, hands against your chest.

"Go to class, you idiots!" you panted, obviously failing to hide how they had flustered you so much.

Both were also momentarily stunned, but they were quick to recover. Matsukawa spoke first, giving an elegant bow of his head, hand over his heart.

"As her highness commands." Your face was still heated, and his words only seemed to darken your cheeks further, "we wish you well on your journey to your own classroom."

"We shall humbly await your arrival to afternoon practice, dear princess." Hanamaki repeated Matsukawa's kind gesture, his grin still present on his face. "Don't disappoint your audience, highness. Your presence is like a beacon of light and warmth for us commoners, after all."

"Go to class!" You shout at them, turning your back to them and walking away quickly.

"Have a good day, princess~" They chimed behind you, making you walk faster.


	2. The Kind Oikawa-san's Best Mr. Beef [Iwaizumi Hajime x Reader]

You tapped the pencil against your chin thoughtfully, running over the checklist in your hand. It's time for a supply run, even on a Monday. It had been bothering you for a while now, but a big test earlier today had prevented you from going shopping sooner and your inattention was starting to show. School always came first, the coaches always reminded you gently, so a few missed minor details here and there wasn't going to hurt anyone, even if it did make you feel a little guilty for missing those details. Anyone else would see your job as menial; buying water bottles, washing bibs, making flyers for upcoming events, all things that may seem small in the grand scheme of things, but it was the small things that kept the team functioning in top condition, no matter how small. You felt a sense of pride in seeing your hard work paying off with their hard work.

Okay, back to taking stock. No excuse to slack off now, even on the team's day off. You got back to work taking inventory in the club's supply room.

Need some more tape for Oikawa, check. Bandages definitely need a restock, check. The drink mix everyone loves you're pretty sure is on sale this week, so better stock up on that; need more laundry soap, the one without the dyes or scents for Kunimi's and Hanamaki's skin sensitivities. You can only hope it's on sale this week too. Who knew that laundry soap could be so expensive?

Still have plenty of stat books and notebooks; plenty of salon pas and air fresheners still; most of the cleaning equipment still seemed to be in good order. Good, good.

Oh! You should probably put in an order for new practice balls though; some of them were looking like some of them were on their last legs and probably wouldn't last much longer.

No one couldn't say that the sport wasn't well-loved around here, you thought as you looked at some of the poor balls that have felt the power of Oikawa's serve, or Iwaizumi's spikes, for too long now. They had a good run, you felt, and would retire with grace. RIP, well-loved practice balls.

"[Name]-chan?" a gentle knocking caught your attention, making you turn around. Iwaizumi leans lazily against the door frame, an easy smile on his face.

"Coach said you'd probably be here, even though it's Monday."

You returned his smile before going back to your shopping list, glancing around the room for a final check of everything.

"I had a big math test today, so I haven't had a chance to come down here yet."

He hums in agreement, knowing how much of a beast the math teacher was. He was infamous amongst the third years and put the fear of God in the younger classes.

"My condolences. Did you survive?"

"As much as he would let me," you confessed, earning a soft, sympathetic chuckle from the ace. "Did you need something, Iwaizumi-kun?"

"Just wondering what you were up to. Shittykawa's teaching today and I'm pretty sure Hanamaki and Matsukawa have makeup exams to take. So, I've got a free afternoon."

You giggled, wondering if he even called Oikawa by his proper name anymore.

"Even when he's not here to hear it, you still insist on mangling his name?"

"If you say his name, you summon him." He replied, his face turning so serious with his brows so deeply furrowed, you couldn't help but laugh. "Trust me on this one, [Name]-chan. It's creepy. Every time I say his name, he finds some way of making his presence known and piss me off."

As if to prove his point, Iwaizumi's phone buzzed, alerting him to a new message. And, as if on cue, you can see the familiar scowl returning to his face that was a well-known presence in the gymnasium. Iwaizumi had a specific scowl just for when he was pissed off at Oikawa, and he was making that face at his phone. You can only guess what it was that his 'beloved' captain had sent him.

"Get back to your class, Trashykawa!" He yelled at his phone, as if his angry voice would carry over through text message and berate Oikawa for him. You couldn't help the smile on your face as you bent down to pick up your shopping bags while he made his angry reply to Oikawa.

"If it's okay with you, Iwaizumi-kun, I'm going out for a supply run this afternoon," you say, straightening out your uniform and holding the large empty bags in your arms. "You're more than welcome to come along."

He looked up from his phone, his scowl seeming to dissipate from his previous ire. Soon, his smile from before had gracefully returned to his face, matching yours.

"Like old times, huh?" He fell into step with you easily, walking beside you.

You smile, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Iwaizumi was always the one that accompanied you on supply runs when you were both first years. As much as you liked your other fellow third years, it never seemed as enjoyable as when you were with Iwaizumi. He never complained about how heavy the bags were, you never felt rushed when looking through the choices, and he was easy to talk to, giving his opinions on things when you couldn't decide.

After a brief stop to the Club Activities Room to gather the money need for the supplies, you head into town with Iwaizumi, walking in a comfortable silence.

\----

"You know," he started as you both headed inside the last shop, "I don't think I've said anything about it before... but I was glad when you took over the manager position last year."

You paused while looking over the sports tape, turning your eyes towards him.

"You pay attention to the small details that our previous senpai didn't seem to notice before. We could always tell when it was you that did something. Hanamaki always noticed when you did the laundry. Always making it known that he wasn't itchy whenever you did it. I think you even surprised Kunimi when he put on the bibs or used the towels and saying they didn't feel itchy."

You blush lightly, remembering the look on Kunimi's face as he touched the practice bib, rubbing the material in his fingers.

"Guess his previous manager didn't know about his skin sensitivity. I'm so used to using a no dyes and scents detergent for Hanamaki-kun's sake, I guess I forgot how uncommon it actually is to do."

"Or that you actually listened to Shittykawa's complaints about his tape and went out of your way to get the correct brand." Your hand was even lingering over Oikawa's preferred tape brand, (you knew it was the correct one without even closely looking, you've bought it so many times before, you knew it just as well as Oikawa did) before he said that, an embarrassed smile gracing your lips.

" 'Anything else feels wrong!'" You still remembered his complaints to this day. "'This one stays on better and doesn't leave that gross sticky residue behind!'" As calloused and rough as you've seen Oikawa's hands, he _hated_ anything on them that wasn't supposed to be there, especially glue globs.

"Senpai calling him a big brat and a baby was pretty great though, telling him to just deal with it," Iwaizumi remembered, a sly, satisfied smirk on his face. You remembered it as being pretty insensitive at the time, but clearly Iwaizumi thought differently on that memory. "Served him right, smarting off like that, especially smarting off to a third year at that."

More than just smarting off, you remembered. Not with Oikawa. His sass was complimented by him pulling down his lower eyelid and blowing a rather loud raspberry at your senior. It was a miracle he got off as lightly as he did back then. 'Lightly' being the operative word.

"You still went out and bought it for him, though." He sighed, scratching the back of his head and walked with your towards the water bottles. "And it was embarrassing, how big of a show he made in front of her when you gave it to him."

Oh yes, you remembered that particular incident far too well. The tape incident was what had cemented you in the place of their hearts, of Oikawa's, Hanamaki's, Matsukawa's, and Iwaizumi's hearts. You smiled at the memory.

"Oikawa-kun never really did like her, the way they butted heads sometimes." Oikawa not liking a girl was not something that usually ever happened. The guy thrived on the attention of his fangirls, so for him to, at times, to outright antagonize a girl was almost frightening.

"She never really liked him either," Iwaizumi commented, looking over the bottles carefully, "and she knew how to dish it right back to him."

He paused, as if recalling something suddenly.

"Well, most of the time."

You nodded, looking down as you remembered what he was most likely remembering. An unpleasant memory for both of you, no doubt.

After making sure you had plenty of everything on your list, you headed towards the checkout in silence, the only sounds made were the cash register's whirs and beeps.

"Ah, I see that you've brought your boyfriend along today, how adorable," the elderly cashier said, smiling at the two of you, you two in turn freezing.

"You both look so smart in your uniforms together! You look especially handsome, young man. Are you both going Aoba Johsai? Those are the uniforms for Aoba Johsai, right?"

You blushed brightly, the tips of your ears turning a brilliant shade of red, you were sure. Iwaizumi was having a similar reaction.

"Ah, no," you tried to say, "he's not my boyfriend, ma'am. He's just from the volleyball clu-"

"Oh young love," she clearly wasn't listening, "I remember being your age. So cute~ What's your name, young man?"

Iwaizumi's ears were definitely red (as red as his face in fact), but he did manage to mutter out an answer.

"I-Iwaizumi..."

"Well, Iwaizumi-kun, I do hope you're treating her well. She's a keeper!"

Iwaizumi grabbed all the bags forcefully once the transaction was done, not letting you carry even the lightest one, his face still beet red as he stomped towards the door. You and the cashier gasped in awe at his strength.

"Strong and dependable too. You have been blessed, dearie." She says cheerfully as she hands you the receipt.

With a quick bow, you ran after the ace, the smoke of embarrassment coming out his ears.

\-----------

"I'm so, so sorry about that, Iwaizumi-kun," you said for about the hundredth time since you left. The red from both your faces still hadn't yet though.

"I-It's really okay, [Name]-chan. She's harmless. Perfectly harmless. Didn't mean anything by it."

You both knew that, had said it several times now.

So why were the both of you still so flustered? 

To fight off your nerves, you busied yourself with putting away your newly acquired supplies, a task you could easily accomplish on your own.

Except that Iwaizumi was still here. He was helping you organize everything, his face still red. Both of you were uncomfortably quiet, trying to ignore each other as best you could.

"....Have you thought about it?" He suddenly asked, still trying not to make eye contact with you. "Dating, I mean. Not with me, of course! J-just... in general."

If only the floor actually could open up and swallow you whole.

"N-not really. Oikawa-kun treating everyone to ramen doesn't really count, does it?" You knew it didn't, as much as you had said to the other girls in your class, who were jealous that you got to eat ramen with Oikawa.

"I've usually been too busy to consider dating." It was true, mostly. Having a boyfriend had never really crossed your mind. You saw guys almost every day. Dating any of them hadn't even occurred to you. You've only seen them in school and in volleyball club and you'd have enough of them by then.

"Have you thought about it, Iwaizumi-kun? D-dating, I mean." He seemed to have a similar reaction as you did, just wishing you two weren't having this conversation right now.

"I've... thought about it." At least he was honest about it, you thought, "it's just never felt like the right time."

"W-well, we are third years now," you stated, wondering why these words are coming out of your mouth.

"A-ah, yeah, that's true. That's definitely true." Iwaizumi was wondering that too.

You had accidentally backed into him while trying not to look at him, and had walked backwards to get a better look at the shelf. Squeaking in surprise, you jumped when he jumped, your hands accidentally brushing together. Even if the touch was brief, you couldn't help but note how warm his back and his hands were when you touched.

You also wondered when you had become so acutely aware of Iwaizumi.

Finally, your eyes met each other, wide with surprise, stunning both of you into a long silence.

After what felt like forever, the silence was finally broken by the quiet buzzing of his phone, startling both of you. You both breathed a sigh of relief as the ace took out his phone, looking at the message he had received. His 'Oikawa Scowl' returned with a shaky breath.

"Assykawa's looking for me. I should get going."

You nodded, a little too eagerly. Anything to break the awkwardness between you.

"Be careful going home, [Name]-chan. Don't stay here too late, especially after dark."

"I-I will. You be careful going home too, Iwaizumi-kun. A-and thank you, for today."

"A-anytime, [Name]-chan."

With that, he turned his back to you one final time and headed out of the supply room and out of your sight, the tips of his ears still a gentle shade of pink.

Morning practice was definitely going to be awkward tomorrow, you were sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Early Birthday, Iwa-chan! I wrote this one in the case that I couldn't make his birthday on Friday because of work reasons. If I do have the time, I definitely want to make something more special for him, but... well, we'll see ^^;


	3. The Kind Oikawa-san's Kouhais, Episode 1: The Phantom Kouhai [Kunimi Akira x Reader]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a forewarning, I'm pretty far behind in the manga (like, in the mid 40s at the time of writing this, where Karasuno hasn't 'officially' played against Seijoh yet (like, towards the tear-jerking end of the first season of the anime, so that peeps can understand the reference point)(I have finished both seasons of the anime, however, and am really super stoked about season 3) and, as far as I've been spoiled for the manga, Kunimi and Kindaichi are making a reappearance, so SEIJOH ISN'T COMPLETELY DEAD AND GONE, YAY. 
> 
> As such, if Kunimi and/or Kindaichi gets some character development in the latest chapters of the manga that make any writings I make for either of them inaccurate, I'm really sorry.
> 
> Okay, note over! Back to the good stuff.

Everyone was... tall.

Like, really... really tall.

Why was everyone here so tall?

You swallowed hard, trying your hardest to keep your head up and eyes forward. No need to be nervous, after all. None at all.

A gentle hand on your shoulder startles you out of your reverie, making you look up towards the handsome face that was standing beside you. He was a third year, you remembered, and quite popular amongst all the girls in your class. There wasn't a day that went by that his name wasn't mentioned at least once with a loving sigh.

At least, that had been your experience with him so far.

He gives you an easy smile before turning back to face the crowd before the two of you.

"Everyone," he said coolly, "I'd like you to give a warm welcome to [Name]-chan. She's taking the manager position this year."

As if to add onto your nerves, your reception was met with mixed views. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd as you searched their faces. Kunimi and Kindaichi were faces you knew from class. At least Kindaichi seemed excited to see you; Kunimi had the same expression you've always seen on him, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking. The two present second years looked genial and friendly enough, so you were relieved. 

It was with the third years that you met some resistance. Well, just one really. The taller two were also seemingly easy-going and friendly. They even waved hello and said 'Welcome to the club, First Year Manager-chan' so that calmed you as well.

The other third year, well...

"...She's not one of your fangirls, is she, Shittykawa?"

"Iwa-chan!" The third year beside you cried out indignantly, reaching around you to cover up your ears lightly. "Not in front of our manager-chan! Don't taint her first year ears, you fiend!"

"Is she or isn't she, Trashykawa!" he was practically yelling now, making you step back further.

"No need to be rude, Iwa-chan." He finally removed his (large, calloused, and oddly cool to the touch) hands from your head and stood in front of you, in a way kind of shielding you, but not really. He cleared his throat and ignored 'Iwa-chan', or Iwaizumi-senpai, as you later learn. He, Oikawa-senpai, introduces you to the rest of the team, and makes sure to tell everyone to be nice to you, else it's 'one million laps around the gym, one million diving drills, and one million receiving drills, all courtesy of their beloved captain!' You could see from the faces spread across the room just what they thought of that statement.

Despite the first impression you have received, you held your head high and still promised to do your best as Seijoh's manager, and the boys all greeted and welcomed you warmly.

Still, throughout the introduction and 'orientation', you could help but feel like someone was watching you. When you turned to look, you always saw Kunimi pointedly turning his face away. What's got him so interested in you, you wonder. You shake off the thought, though. You needed to be a manager now.

\---------

Everyone... was tall.

Like, really, really tall. 

It feels like you've made that observation before.

Even the bibs you were washing seemed as though they would swallow you whole. But you weren't going to put one on to try it. Who would put on clothes that were dripping wet? Certainly not you.

You wiped your eye with the back of your hand (and blanched, as your hand was still wet when you touched your face) finally finished with the washing. You had been Seijoh's manager for about a month now, and things like this still managed to surprise you.

Now was the hanging of the bibs and towels out to dry, which was no small task. 

You took the step ladder you had snitched from the equipment room and took your basket of clean bibs and towels in your other arm as you headed to the nearby school clothesline, the one specifically used for the volleyball club, and set your step ladder near it.

It wasn't the fact that you were entirely too short to reach it, no, you could reach it, of course.

It was, however, *just* enough out of your reach that you always had a hard time clipping the bibs and towels to it, always standing on your toes and practically arching your back to reach the taunt rope. The first couple of times you tried it without the ladder were torture, and especially frustrating when you had to rewash the few things that had the audacity to fly away after all your hard work and straight into the ground. 

Anyone else would have went inside of the gymnasium to ask for help, as all the boys could reach the line easily. However, you felt it was kind of stupid to ask for help, interrupting their practice just to help you hang laundry just because you can't reach. Not to mention the teasing you would get. 

So, it was best to avoid the boys when it was laundry day and become friends with the step ladder.

It was quiet in the area, away from the squeak of sneakers, the smell of salon pas, the bouncing of practice balls, and the random outbursts of 'Nice kill', 'Don't mind, don't mind!' and 'Shittykawa, I swear to all that is holy and sacred...'. 

There was a gentle breeze through the area, a tiny bit chilly, but not enough for you to go back inside. Seasons must be changing again, if it's already starting to get cold this soon.

For the hundredth time that day, you rubbed your eyes, this time not even bothering to hide a yawn. Guess staying up so late last night studying wasn't one of your brighter ideas. But you passed that test, so take that, normal sleep schedule!

Your normal sleep schedule retorts with another yawn, bigger and longer this time. Normal sleep schedule makes a valid point.

After what felt like forever and a million more eye rubs, you finally finished hanging up the drying laundry. A job well done, if you say so yourself.

There was still some time left before practice was over, and you weren't really needed in there right now. They had their water bottles filled, the extra clean towels. No drilling, just individual practicing today. If you didn't want to be in there, you didn't have to be. 

Still, it wasn't as though you were going to leave the laundry hanging there all night long. 

And, despite the kinda cool breeze in the area, it was relatively pretty and sunny out. 

And that tree over yonder also looked criminally comfortable.

...Surely no one would miss you if you were taking a little longer than expected with laundry. Surely not. A few minutes late never hurt anyone, right?

Leaving the step ladder and basket, you made your way over to the shady tree and sat down, finding it far too comfy to be normal. Still, it was quiet, so you didn't mind.

The swaying tree branches were hypnotizing, making your eyelids grow heavier by the minute. It's not long until you are completely soothed by the quiet and fall asleep, oblivious to the world around you.

\------

Warm. 

You feel warm, yet you couldn't figure out why. There was also something faint that you could swear smelled sweet, like candy, but couldn't place it. And of... boy?

Your head was also perched on something that certainly didn't feel tree-like. More person-like, with a very person-like shoulder. 

You started awake, a flash of white and teal falling into your lap. A pair of dull brown eyes stared into your eyes.

"Morning, [Last Name]-san," he said easily, as if you hadn't just sleeping on his shoulder.

You, on the other hand...

"K-Kunimi-kun!" How did you not even notice when he had approached you, let alone how your head ended up on his shoulder.

"Coach Mizoguchi sent me to find you. Practice is over." A quick look at the outdoor clock proved him right, practiced would have indeed been long over by now.

That still didn't explain how he had gotten into this... situation. Instead of explaining himself further, however, he started to dig around in the pockets of the jacket on you, his jacket, you soon realized with horror.

Where was this situation even going?

He seemed to finally find what he was searching for, pulling out two small pieces of chocolate candy. He offered one of them to you. You raised your eyebrows.

"Anemia?" He asked factually. You were so surprised that you almost dropped the offered candy.

"Uh, no, just stayed up too late studying for that big test in English. Sleeping outside is not a habit, I'm promise."

He hummed in understanding, putting his own candy in his mouth.

"Eat it," he said quietly, looking again at the candy piece in your hands, "it'll help your energy level, either way."

"B-but, it's your candy, isn't it?"

"I gave it to you, didn't I?"

You were silent again, staring at the candy piece in your hands. Was Kunimi always like this? You did catch him staring at you at times, but didn't think too much of it.

Still, he still hadn't explained why he was out here with you as you had dozed the afternoon away when he could have easily woken you up, like anyone else would have done.

Did he perhaps...?

"Hey... Kunimi-kun?" You started, only to realize he was retrieving his jacket and standing up without a word.

"Practice is at its regular time tomorrow morning, [Last Name]-san. Be sure to get plenty of rest tonight. Can't have our manager dozing off in the middle of practice."

And he was gone before you get another word in.

Seriously, what was up with him?

A glance at the clothesline made you panic for a moment, as all of the bibs and towels were gone. Thinking the worse hand happened and you had to chase the laundry across the school grounds, you spotted your basket perched on top of the stepladder, filled to brim with the bibs and towels, all folded neatly.

...Double seriously, when did he have the time to finish the laundry for you and sit beneath the tree with you?

Just how out of it were you?


	4. The Kind Oikawa-san's Pudding and Punches [Oikawa Tooru x Reader]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think Oikawa's injury has been given too much detail as to how it happened nor how severe it really is, so I'm going to try and keep it as vague as I can, since I don't know much about sports injuries either way, so it was a little difficult to write about an injury that's not given much detail.
> 
> Unless it's talked about more in the manga, then I have missed a great lot and I'm incredibly sorry if I get anything wrong.

 

"The King had looked so alive that night. His eyes were bright and his cheeks were flushed from laughter; you didn't have the heart to tell him to stop and take a moment for himself until it was too late."

-The Never Book (via auideas on tumblr)

\-----

You felt like that night would forever be etched into your memory.

The sound of his knee giving out, his smile before it contorted to pain, the feeling of your heart stopping as you watched him landing hard on the gymnasium floor, the deafening echo of the volleyball bouncing on the gym floor.

Why hadn't you told him to stop when you had the chance? You knew that he had been playing for too long, why oh why hadn't you told him to stop? Why did Iwaizumi have to go home early on this practice day while Oikawa stayed behind, today of all days? Iwaizumi would have stopped him, probably yelled at him for being an idiot, too.

Why couldn't you, for once in your life, been like Iwaizumi and voiced your concern before it was too late? Why, just... just why?

\---------

It had started off just like any other practice day. Oikawa was the lone remainder after everyone else had left. You often stayed with him on practice days, along with Iwaizumi. It was pretty normal for the three of you.

Except that Iwaizumi had somewhere else to be after practice, you can't even remember what it was now. It was just you and Oikawa alone in the gymnasium after practice was over. It wasn't uncommon for him to stay longer than the others, just that it was your first time alone with him, without Iwaizumi there. Any of his fangirls would have jumped at this rare chance, being alone with Oikawa in the gym without Iwaizumi to pull him back, so to speak.

Except that neither of you were here for that. Oikawa was too focused on his beloved volleyball that he barely noticed you were still there, and you didn't want to bother him while he was in his zone.

Besides, you were pretty sure that he had a pretty bad breakup with his girlfriend recently, mostly her breaking up with him, as it usually happened (according to the gossip in your class, at least). So, it only seemed polite to let him work off some of his hard feelings through what he knew best. Who were you to tell him how he could and couldn't cope with his feelings? Oikawa's girlfriends, past or present, were none of your business. You were just his manager, nothing more.

"You're starting to fall asleep over there, Manager-chan~"

He had told you off hand, several times, it was okay for you to go home, that he would do the clean up on his own when he was done. All you gave him in return was a pout. Like you would let him finish the cleaning duties by himself. He usually chuckled and went back to practicing with a soft 'suit yourself.'

He was practicing his jump serve, trying to find the right balance of power and accuracy. There was plenty of power behind it of course, just something about the accuracy was always somewhat a bit off, and that always frustrated Oikawa to no end. He was soaked with sweat and breathing hard, looking a tad pale in the florescent lighting. Even from where you were sitting, you could see the tension around him, his body wound up so tightly, like a coiled spring waiting for release.

The sun was setting by then and he looked exhausted. You were almost afraid to disturb him, but it was getting late and you were getting hungry. Your parents would begin to wonder when you would be home, not to mention it would be time for the last train in about another hour. Not to mention how long it would take to pick up all the stray balls and taking down the net, not to mention all the other cleaning duties with just the two of you here.

You stood, intent on walking towards him to tell him your concerns, but he stopped you.

"Just one more, [Name]-chan." His arms and legs were shaking from tension and fatigue. That should have been an instant red flag that something was wrong. That you should have put your foot down and told him that this was enough for today.

So, why hadn't you told him no?

"I'm so close, [Name]-chan. I can feel it. Just one more, I promise." He was so earnest and determined, despite all the signs you should have told him no...

But you just couldn't. And just stepped back.

He gave you his usual easy smile, as if mentally thanking you, and turned his attention back to the court.

With the liquid grace of a cat, he tossed the ball into the air, the tension seeming gone. Two long steps squeaking forward, he bent his knees and jumped off the floor like a spring board. It never failed to make you stare in awe in the power that was Oikawa's serves. You could definitely feel the hairs on your neck standing up in anticipation.

And, for the first time as you've seen it, his accuracy was dead on, knocking the far water bottle with a resounding clatter. You were turning around to express your joy, that he had finally gotten it right. For a split second, he held the brightest, toothiest grin you seen him give. The kind of real smile that you've only seen on the court; Oikawa's real smile, where he was happiest and most proud.

And then, everything was in slow motion.

Gravity was taking over his body, pulling him down from the air. His foot was in the wrong place, you both realized far too late. He landed hard, the wrong way, his leg twisting horribly. There was a soft grunt of pain before the rest of his body caught up and he collapsed loudly onto the floor.

He didn't get up.

He just laid on the ground, clutching his knee and grinding his teeth.

You were pretty sure your heart had stopped in that moment.

Your feet were moving before you were completely aware of it, running to him and kneeling, helping him to sit up. He tried to stand up, oh did he try, but his knee refused his commands. Even the lightest of your touches sent hisses through his clenched teeth.

"[N-Name]-chan..."

The next thing either of you knew, you had your phone out calling for an ambulance. You gave his information, and your relationship to him, all factually. Having been his manager for three years now, if there was a thing you didn't know about Oikawa, physically speaking, it would be surprising to the both of you.

You were shaking so bad when the ambulance arrived, it was wonder you hadn't started crying yet.

Still, once he was on the gurney and inside the vehicle, you held onto his hand the entire way there; for his sake or for yours, you weren't sure. He never pulled away either, always keeping his eyes on you when he could, biting his lip through his pain.

You only had to let go once you got to the hospital and the doctors had to look at him, separating you two since you had departed.

Once he was out of your sight, you were ready to break down, being in the waiting room alone. So, you did the only thing you knew to do and pulled out your phone once again. You just blindly looked through your contacts, searching for just one name.

You finally came across the name you were looking for and pressed the green call button. You were almost starting to regret this as a lump formed in your throat.

You didn't call your parents, however, nor your coaches. Not even Oikawa's home number where his parents likely were. No, didn't call them. There was only one person you could think to call at a time like this.

You called Iwaizumi.

He knew immediately something was wrong just from the sound of your voice. Or lack thereof.

You did your best to tell him what happened, hearing a quite loud 'he did WHAT? and 'he's WHERE?' but you were choking on your sobs, on the very edge of a breakdown. He tried his best to stay on the line with you, telling his mom to call Oikawa's parents to tell them what happened while it sounded like he was putting his shoes on. He even offered to call your parents for you as it sounded like he was pulling out his bicycle.

You were grateful, but just asked him to stay on the line with you, as you were too upset to be alone right now. He stayed true to his word, staying with you even though all you could hear was Iwaizumi's heavy breathing as he rode towards the hospital, grumbling 'he's so dead... that bastard is so dead when I get there.' It was comforting in it's own way, Iwaizumi yelling at Oikawa for something stupid he did. Just that sense of familiarity held you together long enough for him to get there.

He was breathless, his hair windblown and his clothes tousled when he arrived. One brief look of questioning was all he provided when he saw you still in your practice clothes. But another look at your tear-stained face was enough to shake him back to reality and pull you into his arms, your sobs muffled by his shoulder, finally letting loose your tears you've held since arriving here.

You don't know how long he held you, but you were soon surrounded by parents before you knew it. Oikawa's parents, your parents, and Iwaizumi's mom. There were so many questions flying around, you couldn't keep up.

Yet, there was one thing that no one else was saying, something very, very important.

It was your fault, you realized. It was all your fault. You should have stopped him from pushing himself so far. It's all your fault, all of it. No one had verbally blamed you, but you knew that they were all thinking it.

If there was a way to turn back time. If you had only stopped him from hurting himself, somehow. If you had been hurt instead of him.

If only.... If only....

\--------

It had been days, almost a week.

Iwaizumi had been keeping a close eye on you since that day. He had been the one to tell everyone what had happened as you still couldn't bring yourself to talk about it. As a result, every one on the team was being overly considerate. Chores you normally did by yourself were done in record time before you even had a chance. Sweets, flowers, and extra tissues found their way into your shoe locker every afternoon. And you were rarely alone going between classes, usually accompanied by one, two, or even all three of your remaining fellow third years. Even the normally gruff and uncooperative Kyoutani was giving you some slack, even listening to you weak statement about picking fights on the court.

Still, you weren't at your best and everyone noticed, especially Iwaizumi.

During a break, he took you aside and sat with you on the benches. You looked at your hands in your lap, while Iwaizumi wiped his face and neck with a towel.

"...He's been asking about you, you know," he commented quietly, guzzling down some water. You looked up at him.

"He's worried. You haven't seen him since he went in, right? Maybe you should go and see him, just to shut him up. He's still on my case about it every time I see him."

"Iwaizumi-kun..." He patted you lightly on the back, encouraging you.

"We'll handle the clean up duty, so don't worry about it and just go. I'll talk to the coaches about it."

"Iwaizumi-kun...thank you." He gives you a warm grin.

"And if Trashykawa does or says anything else stupid, punch him. He's already got one coming once he gets out of the hospital."

For the first time in a week, you could feel the corners of your mouth tugging into the beginnings of smile. Good old Iwaizumi. He took that as a good sign.

"Go get changed, [Name]-chan. And go beat some sense into Shittykawa for me, okay? He deserves it."

\---------

You were starting to regret coming here. You were in your school uniform, as you didn't want to go home and change, nor did you just want to show up in practice clothes. That'd be pretty rude, in your opinion.

You were also delaying the inevitable, spending a good twenty minutes in the gift shop trying to figure out what to get him. Who knew there were so many bouquet options in a hospital gift shop?

You lost count how many times you had to repeat that Oikawa was your teammate and not your boyfriend when the clerk decided to give you a hand. The thought of dating Oikawa left a sour taste in your mouth. His history of bad dating put you off pretty badly and you wanted no part of it. If he had already shaken you up this much as your teammate, you couldn't even imagine being his girlfriend and going through this.

Still, the closest bouquet you would consider was one for 'friendship.' He was your teammate, officially, classmate, and most certainly not your boyfriend. Friend would fall under those categories, right? Right.

You bit your lip the whole elevator ride to his room, clutching your flowers tightly. The elevator ding startled you and you took so many slow steps, you were wondering if the nurses were staring at you.

Finally, you arrived at his room number, his name on the door. You gulped, flashes from that night echoing in your mind. You shake your head to rid yourself of these thought and tentatively knocked on the door.

"Come in~" he sounded cheery, already a good sign. You don't know what you would have done if he had been refusing people.

Then again, Oikawa only didn't sound cheery when he was on the court. It was his automatic defense mechanism, according to Iwaizumi, at least.

You pushed on the door handle, the door swinging open with a soft squeak. He had a spoon in mouth while his other hand had a pudding cup in the other. His face brightened up considerably when he saw it was you, instantly swallowing his bit of pudding.

"[Name]-chan! You came to visit me? And you brought flowers too!"

He seemed far too happy to see you that you were taken aback by his sudden happiness. He was unfazed, however.

"Come in! Come in and sit, [Name]-chan! Close the door behind you, too."

As he had asked, you closed the door quietly and walked towards him. Thankfully, both of his legs were covered under a blanket, much to your relief. You sat down at the chair closest to the bed, setting your bag beside you and the flowers in your lap. Oikawa gave you one of his easy smiles. It hurt to look at him.

"How is everyone doing? It's a practice day today, so Iwa-chan and the coaches are probably drilling everyone into the ground, right? You must've gotten off easy today."

"Y-yeah," you managed to mumble, looking at your hands. He was quiet for only a moment, feeling like he was gauging you. You could certainly feel his eyes on you, either way. He was humming quietly in thought.

"Speaking of drilling someone into the ground, can you believe Iwa-chan brought me a mountain of homework from my classes? I haven't even been gone that long! The teachers really are ruthless, aren't they? Or do you think Iwa-chan sneaked in some of his homework too? That cheating cheapskate!"

"O-only the most brutal and unforgiving..." You still weren't looking at him, your hands sitting on top of the bouquet, the paper crinkling loudly.

There was another long pause and before you knew what was happening, he reached for your hands and pulled the flowers onto his bed, setting them aside, relieving you of the crinkling paper noise. He returned his other hand to help its mate, engulfing both of yours. You hadn't even noticed that your hands were trembling until he held them steady. You had seen his long fingers before, as was pretty common amongst setters, and he had lots of dry callouses (he was an athlete, after all), but you hadn't expect them to be quite so cool to the touch. Were they always like that? You had expected him to have warm hands, but this was surprising.

"I'll be out in another day or two and be on crutches for a few weeks after that, a month or two at most," he explained. "I'll be back to playing in no time, before you even know it, [Name]-chan. It'll be like I was never gone. Just have to be more careful to not overwork myself again..."

You froze, no doubt he could feel that through your hands. You bit your lip, taking in a few shaky breaths, trying your best to stay calm and keep your voice from quivering. Your eyes felt hot, but you still refused to look at Oikawa.

"It's my fault," you finally said, your voice betraying your true emotions. You could choke on them, it felt like. "It's my fault you'r-"

Without another word, he removed his hands from yours and pulled you into his arms instead, pulling you to sit beside him on the bed, teetering on the edge. Your nose pressed into his shoulder while the hot tears finally spilled down your cheeks. He refused to let you go, holding you against his chest.

"Not another word, [Name]-chan. Not one more word of that."

"B-but..."

"You know how much I hate seeing girls cry, remember? You crying is like Iwa-chan punching me in the gut and hitting me in the head at the same time, only much, much worse. I'd even prefer taking one million of Iwa-chan's punches and kicks than see you cry."

"Oikawa-kun..."

He was quiet again, keeping you steady with one arm while his other came up to gently stroke your hair.

"Is that what you've been thinking this whole week?" He mumbled. "That you're to blame for my stupidity? [Name]-chan..."

He pulled you tighter to him, resting his nose on your head.

"This..." he started, "this was a long time coming, [Name]-chan. Don't you dare take any of that blame onto yourself."

"Oikawa-kun..."

"No, it's true. I'm to blame for my own stupid mistakes, [Name]-chan. In fact, if you hadn't been with me that night, I'm sure I would be in much worse shape than I am now. Knowing me, I would have tried to walk it off like an idiot." He chuckled.

"B-but, that night, I should have-"

" _I_ ," he emphasized, "shouldn't have made you stay so late. _I_ should have quit when we were supposed to. _I_ should have done something nicer with you once practice was over and Iwa-chan was gone. The only things I did do was make you feel guilty and cry, both of which are highly unacceptable, as team captain and as a man."

He tilted your head up, wiping your tears with his thumbs. You sniffled.

"Let me make it up to you, [Name]-chan. Once I'm out of here, I'll do anything you want. Of course, I'll be on crutches for a while, but other than that, I'm at your beck and call. Cake from your favorite cafe? It's yours. Help with homework? I'm your study slave. Any chore that needs to be done in the club room? Consider it done. Steady boyfriend? I can be that too."

He almost had you there... save for that last tidbit at the end.

Did... did he really just say...?

"Steady... boyfriend?"

"Ah, well..." he seems to have realized what he just said, "Only if you want to, [Name]-chan. I won't pressure into anything, promise."

"Didn't you just recently break up with your girlfriend?" You questioned, while he seemed taken aback. Seems he had forgotten about it already.

"W-well," he tried to save himself, "that just means I'm free to be all yours, [Name]-chan. No strings attached, you see?"

Not for the first time since you've met Oikawa, all the way back in your first year, you've not completely sympathized with Iwaizumi's anger. Didn't always think his annoyance was rationalized... up until this point. Now, you can completely understand why Iwaizumi hit him all the time.

So, you did the most rational thing that Iwaizumi would have done in this situation.

You punched him.

Or tried too.

Admittedly, not the smartest thing you could have done, as it hurt like hell when it landed, probably bruising you more than him. However...

"Ow! [Name]-chan!" he whined, "that hurt, you know! What was that even for? [Name]-chan~!"

There was no way you could hit as hard as Iwaizumi could, and you were cradling your stinging hand to your chest, but you did feel better, for some reason. It felt... kind of good to punch him. It would never become a regular thing, of course, but for that brief moment, there was relief in resorting to, admittedly pretty tame, physical violence.

"I-I don't... Iwaizumi-kun said-"

"Don't go picking up Iwa-chan's bad habits! I don't need two of you beating on me!"

"W-well... you did say anything..."

"I wasn't expecting you to hit me though!" He rubbed where you had hit him while you did the same with your hand, hoping you didn't break anything in the process. It was definitely going to bruise, that was for sure.

It was still totally worth it though.


End file.
